Food as Medicine

It is no secret that food is fundamental to health. In the act of choosing food, we are already committing ourselves to health or disease. By eating the proper food we can make ourselves strong and healthy enough to resist disease in all its forms. In this way we can avoid the hardship of mental and physical pain and the difficulty of trying to cure ourselves with various external remedies.

Due to the increasing awareness of the importance of food, America is now experiencing a phenomenon unique in history. Diets of all types are flooding the market. There is the raw food diet, the grapefruit diet, the Weight Watcher’s diet, the honey diet, the water diet, the steak and salad diet. Every individual tries to find a method of eating compatible with his makeup.

One’s understanding of nutrition can be enriched by learning a simple principle - the Yin-Yang principle - which helps us judge what food we should eat. This means that instead of randomly trying each of the diets in turn, we choose food by taking into account factors such as the climate, our individual condition, our immediate environment, our needs and our goals.

zi zhi

A person with a Yin constitution and condition (for example, a person with pale skin, low blood pressure and cold feet) should avoid eating Yin foods, while a person of the opposite constitution and condition will have to include some fruit and salad in his meal, or he will soon experience trouble of some sort.

Your own condition is a most important factor. A particular diet that you have heard or read about may seem perfect theoretically, but that does not guarantee that it is suitable for you or even viable. All people are physically and psychologically unique. Therefore, each person requires a diet different in both quantity and quality, depending on his individual constitution and type of activity.

In general, we can classify food from Yin to Yang. In doing so, we must consider the method of cultivation, the length of the ripening period, and the food’s shape, size, color and taste. A Yang vegetable is most likely a plant that grows in a cool place and in the ground – a carrot, for example.

Goji Berries

There is an important factor which we ourselves can employ to greatly affect the quality of a plant, and that is fire. In general, people who are sick or in delicate health should eat cooked rather than raw vegetables. Any vegetable, no matter how acidic and full of liquid, can be changed with fire – and salt, time and pressure – into its opposite. The reverse effect is achieved by adding liquid or spices, or by refrigeration after cooking.

It is important to understand that all sicknesses arise from excess. In every case of sickness, the quantity of eating should be reduced. In the case of excess Yang, it is advisable to adjust one’s diet to be proportionally less Yang, while for excess Yin, proportionally less Yin food should be eaten. Too much of both Yin and Yang is a sure sign of overeating.

Fasting is a good curative method, but it is not necessary to prolong it. It is worthwhile to note that fasting never causes death unless carried to the point of starvation, while many people literally overeat themselves to death (heart attack, cancer, etc).

Healthy people can take extreme foods of all kinds and still make balance, but weak people must avoid such indulgences. In attempting to establish health, we should limit our food primarily to those foods which are inherently most balanced. This is why grains and vegetables should be the principal food in your diet. You remain free to eat whatever pleases you, as long as you become aware of the balance of food.

One of the most important aspect of the healing process is to learn how to eat properly. Your focus should always be eating the food that is gentle for your body (easy-to-digest foods). Please expect to make changes in your diet when you are taking herbs. Learn more about the consultation with Juliana here and fill out the consultation request form.